Press Release - Announcement

December 10, 2004/NTHF
CONTACT: Joe York, 620-341-9131

The National Teachers Hall of Fame announced Early Career Teacher Conference.

Memphis, Tennessee. On Saturday, January 22, 2005, The National Teachers Hall of Fame will hold its first regional conference for early career teachers. Participants will include college students in teacher preparation programs and teachers, grades 1-12, in their first, second, or third year of teaching. The purpose of the conference is to provide these early career teachers with an additional source of support and encouragement which may aid them during those years when far too many leave the profession.

There are two unique features of this conference. First, all sessions will be staffed by teachers who have been inducted into The National Teachers Hall of Fame and by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. This will provide the highest level of educational expertise. Following the conference, participants will be able to continue their professional relationship with all sixty-five members of The National Teachers Hall of Fame through an online mentoring program. When a teacher has a question or needs help with a problem or project, he/she will submit the item to the Hall of Fame web site, and from one to many Hall of Fame teachers will respond.

Workshop topics will include National Board Certification for Teachers, How to Manage a Diverse Classroom, Character Education, Coping with "No Child Left Behind," Assessing Student Performance, Dealing with Parents Effectively, Locating and Using Alternative Teaching Materials, Finding Money for Special Projects and General Classroom Use, and Teaching to the Extremes in One Classrooom. In each workshop session a panel of Hall of Fame teachers will hold a question/answer session with the conference participants. Many of those questions will have been submitted to the panelists beforehand on registration forms.

In addition, there will be a session for college and university graduate teaching assistants. Hall of Fame teachers who teach on the college level, as well as K-12, will discuss issues of relevance to the graduate assistants. Many of these graduate assistants from the Department of English at the University of Memphis will assist the Conference presenters while they are in town.

Conference presenters will include Joseph York, President of The National Teachers Hall of Fame (from Memphis); Dana Kelly (Florida); Ruth Ann Gaines (Iowa); Cynthia Jones (Murfreesboro, Tennessee); Vicki Roscoe (Washington); Larry Statler (California); Tracey Fallon (New Jersey); Leslie Black (Alabama); and Dorothy Kittaka (Indiana). David Lussier is advisor to the President of The National Board of Professional Teching Standards.

The luncheon speaker will be Dr. Jane A. Walters, past Commissioner of Education for the State of Tennessee. As Commissioner, she was instrumental in spreading the use of technology through the schools of Tennessee, so that each student had Internet acess at school. Dr. Walters is currently Principal of the Grizzlies Academy, a Break the Mold School with the Memphis City Schools System. She is a past Principal of Craigmont High School in Memphis. Dr. Walters is a dynamic speaker who has an intense interest in the development of teachers and the welfare of children.

The conference will begin with on site registration at 8:00AM and will continue until 5:00PM. An exhibit hall will be open throughout the day and will feature booths from National Teacher Hall of Fame Sponsors, such as Sodexho School Services and The Pearson Learning Group, and from the University of Memphis, among others.

Registration for the conference is $20 for Teachers, Years 1-3; $10 for College Preparatory Teachers; and $25 for all others. Cost for the luncheon is $15 for conference participants and $20 for all others (Space will be limited to 100). Conference programs and registration forms are available at the Teacher Learning Academy (Memphis City Schools), The New Teacher Center (University of Memphis), the Department of English (University of Memphis), Millington Central High School, Bartlett High School, Tipton County Board of Education (See Marion Samuel), Fayette County Board of Education (See Donna Signaigo), and from The National Teachers Hall of Fame (800-96-TEACH). Contact the Hall of Fame for further information (800-96-TEACH).

The National Teachers Hall of Fame is located at 1320 C of E Drive in Emporia, Kansas. The museum is open on weekdays from 8AM until 5PM and is closed on major holidays. The Hall of Fame was organized in 1989 and held its first induction of five teachers in 1992. Currently, sixty-five (65) teachers have been inducted from states throughout the nation. Five teachers are inducted annually in June with ceremonies in Emporia, Kansas and Washington, DC. Any teacher with a minimum of twenty years classroom experience may be nominated. Nomination forms are available from the NTHF Headquarters (800-96-TEACH) and are due no later than the first business day of each year (January 3, 2005).